Mexico Releases Cubans on Way to US Border

25 Sep 2014

HOUSTON, Texas — On Tuesday Mexico released 14 Cubans who were rescued at sea. A number of the migrants were reportedly en route the to U.S., as there are policies in place to allow Cubans who arrive on land to stay in the country.

The group of Cubans left their home country on August 7, according to The Guardian. Their boat’s motor reportedly failed early on in their journey, so they built a makeshift sail.

The group eventually got lost, and became adrift at sea. The trip got so rough after a certain point, that the Cubans became starving and dehydrated — 15 people on the boat died. Several individuals additionally died from the hardships after being rescued by Mexico’s navy.

After being released from an immigration holding center on the Yucatan peninsula, the Cubans split into several groups, The Guardian reported. Several individuals made their way towards Villahermosa, a large city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, while the others headed towards the U.S. border.

One of the individuals reportedly made it to the U.S. and is now living in the country.

It is common for Cubans, who wish to leave their communist country, to take the same route as the recent rescued individuals. Boats are often steered from Cuba to Mexico, where migrants then make their way for the U.S. border via bus.

Jose Caballero took the route late last year — now he lives and works in Austin, Texas. His wife is one of the migrants who was recently rescued by the Mexican government. Caballero told The Guardian that he is sending her money so she can get a bus ticket to the United States.

The United State’s “wet foot, dry foot policy” allows Cubans who arrive on land to stay. According the The Guardian, more than 16,000 Cubans showed up at the U.S.-Mexico border over the last year with no Visa.